Neptune Energy to acquire EPI’s oil and gas business in €4.7bn deal

UK-based Neptune Energy has made a firm and binding offer to acquire 70% interest in France’s Engie Exploration & Production International (EPI) for an aggregate value of €4.7bn.

The deal value includes €1.1bn in decommissioning liabilities deconsolidated from Engie’s balance sheet.

Engie has reported that this offer will help reduce the group’s carbon footprint and exposure to merchant commodity prices.

Upon closure, the transaction will result in a €2.4bn reduction in Engie’s consolidated net financial debt.

Engie CEO Isabelle Kocher said: “After the closing of this transaction, regulated and contracted activities will represent more than 85% of Engie’s EBITDA, thus enabling us to already achieve the objective set for 2018 and to improve our risk profile.”

Engie executive vice-president and chief financial officer Judith Hartmann added: “One year after the announcement of ENGIE’s transformation plan, this project highlights the significant progress made towards the implementation of our €15bn portfolio rotation programme: we are ahead of schedule since 70% of the disposals have been signed or closed in favourable conditions.”

The EPI business to be acquired by Neptune includes significant North Sea operations in Norway, including operatorship of the Gjøa field, in the Netherlands, the recently commissioned Cygnus gas field, as well as onshore Germany, and the Jangkrik LNG project in Indonesia.

EPI operates a total of approximately 60 producing oil and gas fields, which also includes the Touat gas development underway in Algeria.

As part of the offer, Engie would keep a 30% interest in the Touat project.

Following the closure of the transaction, which is expected in the first quarter of 2018, Neptune Energy would become the sole owner of EPI.

Through the acquisition of EPI, Neptune Energy intends to advance its exploration and production activities.

Neptune Energy is backed by The Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners.